Rich Elliott: Consistent Dolson can smile a little now

Updated 12:20 am, Sunday, January 20, 2013

HARTFORD -- Junior center Stefanie Dolson wanted to smile. She wanted to enjoy a moment -- even if it was quickly -- that only 35 other players in the remarkable history of the UConn women's basketball program have experienced.

With 12:39 remaining in the first half of Saturday's 87-62 win over Syracuse at the XL Center, Dolson converted a pass from Brianna Banks into a layup. It sent her over the 1,000-point plateau. For the record, she did not smile. Dolson settled for a brief smirk as she ran back up the floor.

Individual milestones do not have much value at UConn. National championships are what matter most. This is why Dolson needed to keep it together. She might have been fully aware that she had reached the mark, but she could not give her teammates, the UConn coaching staff or any member of a season-high crowd of 14,786 any indication that she was focused on anything else other than the game itself.

Dolson appeared bashful when discussing the milestone following the win. But for all of the work that she has put in over the past two-plus years on developing her game and reshaping her body, it deserved at least a smirk.

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"To me, it means that everything I came here to do, I did, and everything I've worked for has kind of paid off,'' Dolson said. "It's a steppingstone, but it's not everything that I came here for. I came here to win a national championship and become the best player that I can. So scoring 1,000 is great, but it's not going to mean much if we don't win the national championship at the end of the year.''

If the third-ranked Huskies do win an NCAA record-tying eighth national championship this season, Dolson will have a big say in their accomplishment. Not only did she go over 1,000 points against the Orange, she also produced another quality effort. It was one that UConn coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies have come to expect from her every time she steps on the court.

Dolson finished with a career-high 25 points (9-of-16 FG), seven rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes. She carried the Huskies at times offensively in scoring at least 20 points for the second time in the last three games.

"I think it's something that we've been looking at, coaches, fans, teammates, watching her do the things that she does,'' Auriemma said. "Now we have a center that can shoot the ball from most spots on the floor, is a really good passer and is a good defender, makes frees throws and can finish around the basket with her right or left hand. I just think she's put herself in a great situation right now and I just hope she keeps getting better every day. And I know that's her goal as well.''

Dolson has been asked to produce since the beginning of her career. She played in all 38 games -- starting 36 -- as a freshman in 2010-11. She averaged 10.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 24.2 minutes.

There was no grace period for Dolson. UConn needed a center. And Dolson was it. And Dolson expected nothing less.

She has always had high expectations of herself. And she has evolved into one of the top post players in the nation. She no longer struggles to get up and down the court for an extended period. She no longer struggles with consistency, either.

"I think anyone that comes to a program like Connecticut, I don't think you come here to just kind of be here,'' Dolson said. "I think you come to become the best player that you know you can be and do big things.''

Dolson, who is shooting 60.4 percent from the field, is averaging career-highs of 13.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 27.2 minutes this season. She has scored in double figures in a career-high eight straight games and in 14 of 17 games overall.

"Stef's been playing great for us,'' UConn sophomore Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis said. "Her consistency is really something that we needed from at least one person on the team, and for her to step up to that role this year has been great for us just to know that we can always count on her. It's gotten to the point where Stef's supposed to get at least 20 points a game. She's supposed to get double-(figure) rebounds.''

Dolson is a goofball off the court. But once she puts on her uniform, whether it is for practice or for a game, she takes herself very seriously.

Her success is a byproduct of her labors. It was her desire to become an exceptional player. And at this point she is proving to be just that.

"If you do have the right personality type and if you do have the right approach, which she does, and you have the right mental makeup, you can get better,'' Auriemma said. "You can get better because you're always a confident person and you're confident that if you do X, then Y will happen. And that's how she is. She's made herself into what she is because that's what she's always expected to be.''